ASSESSMENTS

An Unsuccessful Coup in the Congo

Dec 30, 2013 | 20:43 GMT

An Unsuccessful Coup in the Congo
Congolese military police are deployed to the National Congolese Radio and Television headquarters on Dec. 30.

(STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

A small group of insurgents attempted a coup Dec. 30 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but state security forces have quelled the violence, dispelling the possibility that the rebellion will bring further instability to the central African country. The coup appears to have been orchestrated by Paul Joseph Mukungubila, who ran for president in 2006. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is no stranger to coups, but previous attempts succeeded because they were more popular and more orderly, involving factions of the country's military or larger rebel militias. Mukungubila's attempt failed because it had little popular support and because the military still largely supports Congolese President Joseph Kabila.

Even if tensions persist, they will not pose a strategic threat to the government in Kinshasa....

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